1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to textile sleeves for protecting elongate members, and more particularly to fire resistant textile sleeves.
2. Related Art
Flexible hoses and tube assemblies are known for use to protect fluid conveying conduits, e.g. fuel lines and oil lines, against exposure to heat and to provide fire resistance and fire proof barrier protection in compliance with Aerospace Standard AS1055 fire tests. In the tests, a flame having a flame intensity of 4500 Btu/hr at a flame temperature of 2000 degrees Fahrenheit is used. One Aerospace Standard (AS1055 Class B) requires maintaining a fireproof barrier for 15 minutes. Coated textile sleeves are known to meet the AS1055 Class B protection at a 5D flow rate (5 gpm) of fluid through the line being protected. Typical textile sleeves comprise a fiberglass braided sleeve having a silicone rubber coating. The base construction of fiberglass and silicone rubber coating are specified in Aerospace Standard (AS1072) as a Type 2 sleeve. Although these sleeves meet the AS1055 Class B protection at a 5D flow rate, they do not meet the AS1055 Class B protection at a 1D flow rate (1 gpm), nor another Aerospace Standard (AS1055 Class A), which requires maintaining fire resistance for 5 minutes when the flow rate is zero. Accordingly, in order to meet the AS1055 Class B protection requirements at a 1D flow rate (1 gpm), or the AS1055 Class A protection requirements at a zero flow rate, multiple sleeves needs to be overlaid about one another, which is bulky and costly.